DNA fragmentation- sperm

[Sugarplummy84]

Please tell me everything you know about this...

We succeeded with ivf a couple of years ago but only had 1 embryo survive out of 20, all the others died after day 3. We want to have another baby and are wondering if dna fragmentation was a factor last time after doing lots of googling but know nothing about it. We want to maximise our chances.

Thank you x

I am actually feeling positive at the moment.
At first with only 1 fertilised, I thought it was game over.
But when I heard yesterday that it was 10 cells at day 3, I was super excited. This is just beyond the 8 cells where the male sperm starts to kick in.
I forgot to ask about the grading.
But I then read online that the number of cells on day 3 is more indicative of a viable embryo than the grading and that it should be at 6-10 cells.
That got me more excited with mine in top of range at 10 cells.
I still have day 4 (today) and tomorrow for things to go wrong, which I think is where the embryo is more likely to go downhill.
So I am worried that I shouldn't be getting excited and just have further to fall when this fails!
Will get a call today with an update and be told the time of my transfer tomorrow if things are still going well.
I have my phone glued to my side!

Wow that sounds positive! Crossing everything. Doesn't sound like DNA fragmentation is a problem fir you after all :) x

Sadly not positive.
Phone call before I stepped out the door said embryo had arrested overnight.
They said it got to 12 cells and was starting to compact?
Do you know where your 19 got to?
Of course with only one it's hard to tell if it's just bad luck or not as I don't have big embryo numbers like you to see if it's a major problem
But what is definitely a problem is getting them to fertilise in the first place with a pathetic 1 of 5 fertilising.
Will make a follow up appointment with my Dr and hope for answers
If she tells me eggs all looked over the hill, nothing I can do to fix it and I don't know how I will cope with that.
Hoping it can be corrected with a protocol change.

How are you going?
Are you actively making appointments now to get some answers?
Or are you just considering things at the moment?

Oh I really am so sorry to hear that :( That's horrible for you. Thinking of you so much. I have no idea what stage my embryos got to...I never asked. I'm so so sorry.
We haven't booked appointments yet- still thinking everything over and have October/November in our minds as a start point.
Really thinking of you x

Thank you Sugar. I have an appointment with my Dr tomorrow.
Will be interesting to hear her thoughts on what went wrong. Will also be interesting to see the embryologists comments about egg and sperm quality. The main thing I want an answer to is our low fertilisation rate. Hoping to walk out of there feeling positive with a plan for a new IVF instead of dwelling on this failure.

I don't know if this thread will still be active by Oct/Nov when you get started. Would love to keep in contact as I will be very interested to hear what the specialists tell you as you. Sounds like a very specific issue for 19/20 embryos to all arrest at the same time and your answers might also help us.

Do you mind if I send you a private message so that you have my name in your inbox incase this thread isn't still going. Then if you discover anything that may be useful to our situation, you will be able to reply to that message?

Please do PM me, absolutely.
How did your follow up appointment go? X

I ended up having to work the day of my appointment.
Decided I need the money to repay my IVF and fund the next one, so I had to postpone my appointment.
I have a new appointment for Thursday, 14th August.
I will PM you soon, thanks.
Would just love for you to have a way to contact me in case you come up with some revelation on how to fix our top quality embryos suddenly dying off... and visa versa.

My DSis had several arrest day 3 leaving just 2 and the next icsi they used pregnyl rather than ovitrelle and they had 2 day 5 frozen plus 2 put back so a lot better.

Be aware if you start ivf later in the year clinics have closures over xmas... Mine didnt accept starts for several weeks in oct

Thank you naty1.
Can you explain to me why the drug made a difference? Very interesting... X

I think their consultant has started to prefer to use pregnyl and getting better results on it.
Her ivfs were a couple of yrs apart so you might have expected worse results not better.
Some of it is luck
Some people i think respond differently to different drugs.
I used ovitrel both times and had about 30% immature first time and 50% second time, i just dont seem to respond to it.
But so far when they manage to fertilse eggs they grow on
2 eggs first time both growing day 3 and put back 1 baby.
2 eggs 2nd time both growing day 3 and put back though no baby.
I was 32 and then 34
I hope they research some of these things like fertilisation rates
Immature eggs - why do some people get so many
Why do some peoples embies arrest?

I agree- there seems to be so many questions and so very few answers x